Propelling apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for propelling a body in or on the water. The apparatus comprises a holding member such as a pole or footgear and one or more propelling devices attached to the holding member. The propelling device includes a support member and a pair of propelling blades pivoted at one end thereof on the support member. A body is propelled by repeatingly pushing and drawing the apparatus in the water.

United States Patent 1191 1111 3,830,189

Yamanaka Aug. 20, 1974 [54] PROPELLING APPARATUS 1,757,277 5/1930 Wegner 9/302 Inventor: Senya Yamanaka, 39-123, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Mamnouchh UemY Japan 158,597 2/1921 Great 1311111111 115/31 22 Filed; 27 1972 1,412,537 8/1965 France 914,358 l/1963 Great Britain 115/31 [21] Appl. No.: 309,939

Primary Examiner-Trygve M. Blix [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Assistant Examiner-Galen L. Barefoot Feb. 2, 1972 Japan 47-15682 t orney, Agent, or FirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack Feb. 3, 1972 Japan 47-15683 July 18, 1972 Japan 47-86875 [57] ABSTRACT Aug. 25, 1972 Japan 47-100787 An apparatus for propellmg a body 1n or on the water. [52] US. Cl. 115/31, 9/309 The apparatus comprises a holding member Such as a 51 1111.01 B63h 1 32 P Or footgfiar and n or more propelling devices 158 Field of Search 115/28, 31, 32, 33, 21; attached to the holding member- The propelling 9/310 D, 302 309, 304 vice includes a support member and a pair of propelling blades pivoted at one end thereof on the support [56] References Cited member. A body is propelled by repeatingly pushing UNITED STATES PATENTS and drawing the apparatus in the water.

1,315,505 9/1919 Humphrey 115/31 1 Claim, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 2 0 I974 SHEET 20$ 4 PAIENTEDAUBZOIQM I 3330.189

sum aur 4 This invention relates to a propelling apparatus convenient for obtaining propulsion in the water.

It is an object of this invention to provide a very convenient device for obtaining propulsion in the water. The device comprises a pair of propelling blades openable at a predetermined angle and mounted on a holding member such as a footgear or a pole for a boat, the propelling blades being adapted to expand at a predetermined angle when pressed against the water, a resultant increase in the resistance of the water against the propelling blades enabling a body on a holding member to proceed forwardly, said propelling blades being closed when drawn back thereby enabling to minimize the resistance of the water. Pushing and drawing of the blades are repeated so as to give propulsion to a pole for a boat or a person swimming in the water.

This invention is described in detail hereinunder with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing propelling blades of this invention mounted on the terminal of a pole;

FIG. 2 is a vertical, sectional view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a propelling apparatus according to another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a vertical, sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a magnified view showing a connecting portion of a means for limiting the opening of the blades in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a propelling apparatus according to a further embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a vertical, sectional view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a propelling apparatus according to a still further embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 10 is a vertical, sectional view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a bottom plan of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is a side elevation of an embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 9.

Throughout the drawings, similar parts are shown by similar reference letters or numerals.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a propelling apparatus according to this invention mounted on the terminal of a pole for propelling a boat. The reference A designates a support member of the propelling apparatus, B designating a pair of propelling blades comprising hollow plate members, said propelling blades being pivoted at one end thereof on the support member and openable at a predetermined angle. Furthermore, a holding member C including a pole 11 is provided in the top portion of the support member. The aforementioned pair of propelling blades B, B are rotatably pivoted on the support member by means of shafts l2.

Numeral l3 designates a cover consisting of thin cloth, rubber or the like, said cover 13 being adapted to define the opening of the blades and to enclose the surface of the support member A, exterior surfaces 14, front end surfaces 15, and side surfaces 16 of the pair of propelling blades B, whereby said propelling blades B are expansible to the state shown by the dot-dash line in FIG. 2.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 13 is shown to enclose the surface of the support member A and the exterior surfaces 14, the front end surfaces 15, and the side surfaces 16 of the propelling blades. It must be understood, however, that the same effect is obtainable by enclosing the areas between the side surfaces 16 only.

As described hereinbefore, the propelling apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is adapted so that, if the front end surfaces 15 of the propelling blades B are pressed into the water by holding the middle part of the pole 11, said propelling blades B are opened by the resistance of water applied to the front end surfaces 15 thereof as shown by the dot-dash lines in'FIG. 2.

If the pole 11 is pressed further into the water with the propelling blades B opened, the interior'surfaces of the propelling blades B press the water, and a boat is moved by the reaction on the blades.

Then, if the pole 11 is drawn back, the propelling blades B are closed by the resistance of water applied to the exterior surfaces thereof as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 2. Since the resistance of water applied to the blades becomes very small, the propulsion of the boat is hardly interfered with by said resistance.

In the aforementioned embodiment, a propelling apparatus is mounted on the end of a pole so as to obtain propulsion for a boat by pressing said propelling apparatus into the water. Since the propulsion device of this invention is different from the known method of pushing the surface below the water with a pole, this invention precludes the necessity of considering the length of the pole or the depth of the water.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the propelling apparatus according to this invention. This embodiment includes footgear, such as sandals or shoes, and is convenient for swimming in the water. Reference A designates a support member, B designating a pair of propelling blades comprising light plate members of foam plastics or the like, said propelling blades being pivoted at one end thereof on the support member so as to be openable at a predetermined angle. Furthermore, a holding member C comprising footgear, such as sandal, shoes and belts, for holding the foot of a swimmer is mounted on the upper surface of the support member A.

The aforementioned pair of propelling blades B are pivoted on the support member A by means of axes 12. Numeral l7 designates rods pivoted at one end thereof on the lower portions of the propelling blades B by means of pivots 18, said rods 17 being linked together by pivoting the ends thereof on each other.

In the aforementioned embodiment, if a person wearing the footgear, i.e. with his feet placed in the holding members C, presses said footgear against the water, the front end surfaces 15 of the propelling blades B are subjected to the resistance of the water, said propelling blades B being expanded by the resistance of the water, thereby enabling the person to proceed forwardly making use of the resistance of the water.

If the foot is drawn back, the exterior surfaces of the propelling blades B are subjected to the resistance of the water, said propelling blades B being closed as shown by the solid lines in FIG. 4, with the result that the propelling apparatus is subjected to a minimum resistance of the water at the time of propulsion.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, the opening angle of the propelling blades B is adjusted by providing a stopper projection 20 on one of the rods 17 at the pivotal part '19 thereof, said projection 20 being adapted to predetermined angle.

The propelling apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is an apparatus for use not only in swimming in the water by a person wearing said apparatus on his feet as in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, but is also useful for walking on land.

In the drawings, reference B designates a pair, of plate-shaped propelling blades B, said propelling blades B being pivoted at one end thereof directly on a holding member C comprising footgear, such as a sandal or a shoe.

The aforementioned propelling blades B are hinged onto the holding member C rotatably and symmetrically along the longitudinal axis of said holding member C by means of shafts 22 journaled in bearings 21 secured to said holding member C.

Numeral 23 designates two pairs of bearings provided at both ends of the underside of the holding member C, the axes of said bearings 23 corresponding with the shafts 22 respectively.

Numeral 24 designates an L-shaped interlocking shaft rotatably penetrating through the bearing 23, a gear 25 being secured to one end of said shaft 24. The gears 25 secured to the shafts 24 are meshed with each other and are rotated equally.

Numeral 26 designates a semicylindrical insertion member to receive the projecting end of the interlocking axis 24, said insertion member 26 being secured to the propelling blades B. Numeral 27 designates a spring outwardly fitted to the middle part of each juxtaposed shaft 22, one end of said spring 27 being secured to the holding member C, the other end of said spring 27 being secured to the propelling blade B, thereby the propelling blades B are biased to open. I

Furthermore, numeral 28 designates an instep binding member comprising rubber strings or the like, 29 designating a heel binding member.

The embodiment comprising the foregoing construction enables a person to propel himself in the water with ease if he wears the footgear, or the holding members, on his feet and kicks the coplanar propelling blades B forwardly thereby making use of the resistance of the water caused by the pressure of the reverse surfaces of the expanded propelling blades B.

Then, if the feet are drawn back, the surfaces of the propelling blades B are subjected to the resistance of the water, said propelling blades B being closed, as shown by the dot-dash lines in FIG. 6, centering on the juxtaposed shafts 22 against the resilience of the springs 27 and by means of the gears 25. Since the resistance of water applied to the closed blades is very small, the swimmer can proceed to the next motion without hindrance to the propulsion of his body.

Particularly, the propelling apparatus of this embodiment is provided with mutually engaging gears 25, whereby said gears 25 enable each of propelling blades B to open or close not only equally but also precisely together.

Moreover, in the propelling apparatus of this embodiment, since the propelling blades B are biased expansibly by the springs 27,.the propelling apparatus enables the wearer to walk on land without incurring the trouble of detaching said propelling apparatus from his feet.

The propelling apparatus shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 is of the footgear type and is for use in swimming in the water just as the propelling apparatus shown in FIGS.

In the case of the propelling apparatus of this embodiment, a support member A is secured to the front and rear parts respectively of a holding member C which comprises footgear, such as a sandal or a shoe, a pair of propelling blades B being openably pivoted on each support member A.

Referring to the drawings, the symbol C designates a holding member comprising footgear, such as a sandal, binding members 28 and 29 being provided at the front and rear parts of the surface of said holding member C, a support member A being secured to the front and rear parts respectively of the reverse surface of said holding member C. Each said support member A is secured transversely to the footgear.

A pair of propelling blades B are rotatably pivoted on the underside of each of said support members A. In order to rotatably pivot the propelling blades B, hinges 30 are fitted to the underside of each support member A as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a pair of propelling blades B being fitted symmetrically to each of said hinges 30. Numeral 31 designates a side plate provided rectangularly at each side of the propelling blade B, said plate 31 being adapted not only to prevent the water from escaping but also to prevent the propelling blades B from slipping sidewise when the propelling blades B are subjected to the resistance of the water while pushing the water by said propelling blades B.

Numeral 32 designates a resilient member consisting of a spring, said resilient member 32 being extended between the undersides of the propelling blades and having a resilience sufficient to maintain each pair of propelling blades B in an expanded state as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

Numeral 33 designates a guide pin provided vertically in the lower part of the support member A, the lower end thereof being formed into a head 34.

The guide pin 33 is slidably fitted into a plate-shaped guide member 35, said guide pin 33 being prevented from being dislocated from the guide member 35 by the head 34 formed at the lower end thereof.

Numeral 36 designates a pair of hinges, said pair of hinges 36 being pivotally connected with the guide member 35 by a pair of connecting rods 37 respectively.

The connecting rods 37 and the guide member 35 serve not only to prevent the pair of propelling blades B from expanding beyond a predetermined angle when the pair of propelling. blades B are urged to expand by the action of the resilient member 32, but also to ensure a perfectly balanced expansion of said pair of propelling blades B.

The propelling apparatus of the foregoing embodiment enables a person wearing the footgear thereof, or the holding members, on his feet to propel his body with ease in the water by kicking, the water being pushed backwardly by the reverse surfaces of the two pairs of propelling blades B which are constantly expanded at a predetermined angle by the resilient members 32 thereby enabling to obtain resistance sufficient for propulsion. Particularly, in the case of this embodiment, since two pairs of narrower blades are provided on the underside of the footgear, the blades can be opened with a shorter kicking distance as compared with the case of one pair of propelling blades.

Then, if the feet are drawn back, the two pairs of propelling blades B are subjected to the resistance of the water on the surfaces thereof, said propelling blades B being closed against the resilience of the resilient members 32 as shown by the broken lines in FIG. 10, the re sistance of the water applied to the propelling blades B being negligibly small with the result that the swimmer can proceed to the next motion without the propulsion of his body being hampered.

Particularly in this embodiment, a side plate 31 provided at each side of the propelling blade B not only prevents the water from escaping but also prevents the propelling blades B from slipping sideways when said propelling blades B are subjected to the resistance of the water. Moreover, the two pairs of propelling blades B are not only prevented from expanding beyond a predetermined angle but are also adapted to expand equally by means of the guide member 35 slidable on the guide pin 33 and pivotally connected with the rods 37 pivoted on the blades 36 at one end thereof.

In the propelling apparatus in FIG. 12, however, the guide pins 33 are erected upwardly on the support members A. Consequently, the guide members 35 slidably fitted on said guide pins 33, the hinges 36, and the connecting rods 37 connecting the guide members 35 and the hinges 36 to each other, are all provided on the outside of the propelling blades B, said propelling blades B being prevented from expanding beyond a predetermined angle and adapted to expand equally as in the case of FIG. 10.

it is to be noted that in FIGS 9to 12, one pair of the propelling apparatus are mounted on the holding member but more than two propelling apparatus can be used for one holding member.

As described in the above embodiments, the propelling apparatus of the present invention is mounted on a holding member such as a pole of a boat or a footgear, and the propelling blades are pushed into the water to obtain propulsion by increasing the resistence of the water. When drawing the apparatus toward a body to be propelled, the blades are closed to reduce the resistence of the water. These pushing and drawing operations are repeated to move a body on the holding member forward.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for propelling a body through the water comprising:

a support member having two opposite sides;

a holding member rigidly connected to said support member on one side thereof;

a pair of hollow plate propelling blades pivotally connected to the side of said support member opposite the side to which said holding member is connected, said blades having two opposite sides and adapted to be pivoted between a closed position where said blades are parallel to and adjacent one another and an opened position wherein said blades are opened to a predetermined angle; and

a cover connected between both sets of adjacent sides of said two blades for limiting the blades to open only to a predetemined angle. 

1. An apparatus for propelling a body through the water comprising: a support member having two opposite sides; a holding member rigidly connected to said support member on one side thereof; a pair of hollow plate propelling blades pivotally connected to the side of said support member opposite the side to which said holding member is connected, said blades having two opposite sides and adapted to be pivoted between a closed position where said blades are parallel to and adjacent one another and an opened position wherein said blades are opened to a predetermined angle; and a cover connected between both sets of adjacent sides of said two blades for limiting the blades to open only to a predetemined angle. 